THE OCCASIONAL ORBITER Hi, hello and welcome fellow Cowboys of the Space variety to your occasionl reading. **** 'Boys Finish Season Dropping Fourth Straight **** The Space Cowboys finished up the regular season Tuesday night, with yet another disappointing loss. They fell to the "thugg e. thuggs" of Hustler seventy-eight (78) to fifty-five (55. The score, however, does not give justice to how the game really played out. It was much closer than a twenty-two (22) point loss. It seemed that the 'boys only lost by fifteen (15) or so. Things were bleek from the beginning, as the hometeam could get nothing going. The "thugg e. thuggs" jumped out to an early twenty-four (24) to eleven (11) lead, on a plethora of open layups. The' boys did not roll over and die though, they fought back to within five (5) points at halftime. They even helf their own for the majority ofthe second half, but the Hustlers, "big "ass" man" was too much for them to handle. He was pretty muchg scoring at will against the undersized and undermanned Space Cowboys. His inside presence along with the only other "thugg" that scored, Lance Shickling, the 'boys were helpless. The were, as always, a couple bright spots for the home team. emergency Replacement, John Rasp, came off the bench to contribute five (5) points along with some solid "hustle" defense. Also, Dan Resing, finsihed the season strong after struggling for the first few games. He had nine (9) points. **** Box Score September 19th, 2001 **** Name No. Fgm Fga 3ptm 3pta Ftm Fta TP Resing 00 3 9 0 3 3 6 9 K.Lubbers 10 1 4 0 2 1 4 3 Brinkman 20 - - - - - - - N.Lubbers 23 13 20 5 11 0 2 31 Jeffries 24 2 10 2 9 0 0 6 Arlinghaus 25 - - - - - - - Ash 30 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 Keene 44 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 Rasp 45 2 3 0 1 1 1 5 Toals 221 22 53 7 29 5 13 55 42% 24% 38% Attendance: 4 (Batsche, Beth, Keene, Kidd) Season Attendance: 81 Special Thanks to Scorekeeper Christina Batsche **** SOAS Tuesday Night Championship **** Next Tuesday, September 25th, the Space Cowboys will be participating in the one (1) night tournament that always follows the completion of the regular season. Times for these games have not been made available yet. But we wouldl like to make a challenge for the two (2) 'boys who have been MIA. Kevin Brinkman and Ted Arlinghaus. We already know what Mr. Brinkman is made of, as he already has made the trip up to help his team. Mr. Arlinghaus also has made the trip, but not whe it meant anything. This Tuesday, it means everything. So, we're going to make a deal. Ted, if you show up to play, and the Space Cowboys win the SOAS Tuesday Championship, your reduced, forty (40) dollar ($) league fee, which has to have been paid, will be waived. All you have to do is show up and play the type of ball, that everyone know's you can play. It was proven earlier in the season, that even with you shooting twenty-five percent (25%), the 'boys still came out victorious, which they failed to do once in his absence. It may be coicidence, but when tournament time comes around, you can't be too cautious. As for Mr. Brinkman, we have concluded that no incentive is neccessary for this dedicated 'boy to return to the team. He feels the burn to come out and compete, and is hurting knowing he can't do it on a regular basis. So there it is, the challenge has been made, do you choose to accept? **** Single Season Attendance Record Shattered **** The attendane for Tuesday nights game will go down in the books as a paltry four (4). But that is all that was neccessary for the single season record to be broken. The mark of eight (80) that was set last Spring, was eclipsed by one. The new record will stand at eighty-one (81). Prior to the game questions began to arise whether four (4) fans would show up or not, because as the Space Cowboys took to floor to warmupo there was just one (1) person in the stands taht belonged to them. But the other three (3) would show up, which the majority of them hjave been doing all season long. Those fans were: Christina Batsche, Jessica Kidd and her friend Beth, and #1 fan Larry Keene, making his triumphant return to the stands after being stricken ill and not able to attend last week's contest. We here at the Occasional Orbiter, on behalf of the Space Cowboys would like to thanks these four (4) fans for their devotion and dedication throughout the season. Hopefully you will continue this as the 'boys enter their next season in the weeks to come. **** News and Notes **** There was one name missing from the fans noted above for their attendance this season. Michael Brinkman, who missed games periodically throughout the league, was also MIA from the season finale. It is being contemplated at the present time, whether Mr. Brinkman will be invited back next season....The question that was on everyone's mind coming into the game Tuesday will remain burning in their minds: What exactly was "Slim" doing with thirty-five (35) feet of rope? Is he really the "doubledutcher" that everyone thinks he is?. **** Final Season Averages **** Arlinghaus - Fg. 43/188 23% 3pt. 24/82 29% Ft. 25/33 77% Ppg. 22.8 N. Lubbers - Fg. 59/125 47% 3pt. 21/63 33% Ft. 4/7 57% Ppg. 14.3 Jeffries - Fg. 27/91 30% 3pt. 18/61 30% Ft. 10/16 63% Ppg. 8.1 Resing - Fg. 17/44 39% 3pt. 6/29 21% Ft. 5/15 33% Ppg. 5.6 Brinkman - Fg. 9/29 35% 3pt. 7/26 33% Ft. 2/5 40% Ppg. 5.4 K. Lubbers - Fg. 11/26 42% 3pt. 3/12 25% Ft. 2/6 33% Ppg. 5.4 Ash - Fg. 17/65 26% 3pt. 14/49 29% Ft. 2/6 33% Ppg. 5.0 Keene - Fg. 14/26 54% 3pt. 0/0 0% Ft. 15/26 58% Ppg. 4.8 Rasp - Fg. 3/6 50% 3pt. 0/1 0% Ft. 1/1 100% Ppg. 2.3 Totals - Fg. 204/566 35% 3pt.90/321 28% Ft. 64/115 58%Ppg. 56.5 **** Inside the Numbers **** It seems that a few of the Space Cowboys are "three or nothing" shooters. For example, Michael Ash, made fourteen (14) threes (3's) and just two (2) two's (2's) in the entire ten game season. In the past two seasons he has made eleven (11) two's, shooting 11 of 38, for 29%, while in the same time from the three point line, he shot 41 of 121 for 34%. Kevin Brinkman, has also had the same problem. In this season, Kevin, made 7 threes to just two 2's. In the past two season he has shot 60 threes, while shooting just 16 two's. On another note, if you thought Ted Arlinghuas took a lot of shots while with the Space Cowboys, you were right. In six games Ted took 188 shots. In comparison, last season Nick Lubbers led the 'boys in shot attemps, and in ten games shot just 157. Finnally, although the team as a whole, had a better record this year than last, the majoirty of the 'boys decreased in their overall point output. The player with the biggest difference in ppg, was Mike Ash, dropping from 10.2 last season, to 5.0 this Summer. Here is how the rest of the team went: Spring Summer Ash 10.2 5.0 Resing 9.2 5.6 N.Lubbers 17.4 14.3 Jeffries 10.6 8.1 Keene 5.8 4.8 Rasp 3.0 2.5 Brinkman 4.7 5.4 K.Lubbers 3.0 5.4 That will be all for this edition of the Occasional Orbiter. Keep your eye out for the next edition which will contain the tournament schedule. In the meantime, get all the new and numbers on your favorite Space Cowboy at http://www.geocities.com/spaceranch2001. Or email us ar occasionalorbiter@hotmail.com. Editor-in-Chief Nick "Stud" Lubbers God Bless the Space Cowboys